"Deb Sigman has played a critical role in the development of the impending national assessment system that will measure whether students are meeting the rigorous academic requirements of the new common core standards," he said. "She has accrued a considerable amount of knowledge with more than 35 years of experience in educational assessment and accountability. That background will be a tremendous benefit to the committee as it moves forward with this vitally important work."

"Smarter Balanced provides an unprecedented opportunity for 24 member states to develop assessments aligned to the Common Core," said Sigman, who heads the California Department of Education's District, School, and Innovation Support Branch. "I look forward to working with my colleagues across the country to ensure the Consortium delivers a high-quality assessment system that gives educators the tools they need to improve teaching and learning for all our students."

Sigman will complete the term of Carissa Miller, Ph.D., who stepped down this month. Sigman was elected to the Executive Committee in July 2012, and has served as the state lead to the Consortium since California joined Smarter Balanced in June 2011.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is a multistate consortium working collaboratively to develop a student assessment system aligned with a common core of academic content standards for English-language arts/literacy and mathematics.

As a Smarter Balanced governing state, California is a decision-making member. Smarter Balanced assessments are designed to measure student progress toward college and career readiness.

Common Core State Standards ResourcesInformation and resources about the new academic content standards for English language arts and mathematics adopted by the State Board of Education on August 2, 2010.